Gwen was thrown onto the stained wood floor of the deck. It was wet, probably always was when it was at sea. Everything held an air of dampness, as if truly signifying that not only was the sea around them, but also in the air itself. Nothing could escape from the sea, only it's for, steady land, could fight back against her mighty storms and rages.
She raised her eyes from where she wanted to look at a stain, possibly blood, by her hand. A warm body huddled against her leg, Gull keeping under her skirts. There was no way to hide in her cell without her to hide under, so Gull tagged along as the pirate had gripped her upper arm and dragged her up a flight of stairs. As it turns out, that not only was the Captain here, but his Warlock, and everybody else in the crew. Stinky, unwashed men who had been out in the sunshine for too long surrounded her.
They all watched her, their eyes hungry for something she wasn't going to give. Old stories said that women were bad luck on a ship, that's how men kept women going to sea. However, it was more bad luck for the woman if she was ever found out on a ship. Their eyes were sharp, and all of them made Gwen feel like vomiting again.
A curl of wind twirled around Gwen's hair, fresh air suddenly in her senses. She had grown use to the revolting smell of the holding cell, and hadn't noticed it anymore. But fresh air was full of light, and Gwen breathed a little bit easier than she had been the last few days.
It was finally then, when Gwen looked up into the scarred face of the Captain. Oh, he was angry. The Warlock's face was like stone, unmoving. She noted that her wand was wrapped in his dirty hands, and her jaw clenched. Gwen hated people touching her wand.
"Ye only have two chances to tell us how to use the wand. Or I will slit yer throat." The Captain unsheathed his gaudy sword, it's metal glinting in the sunlight. He was seething.
Gwen stood up, crossing her arms and looking up into the Captain's face. "Make me." She said, a sweet smile on her face. "You can't use it, and you can't kill me unless you want to know the secret." There wasn't any. Only Gwen could use it, nobody else. It was a simple fact. You couldn't force a witch to do anything, but a witch could force you.
The Captain's fingers tightened on his sword, and Gwen could see him slicing her throat in his mind. He wanted to, too. It wasn't hard to read his body, as he stiffly put his sword away.
"Aye," he said, "I can't kill ya. But I can hurt ya. And after some time, I think you'll tell me exactly what I need to know." He drew a dagger with a wicked blade. It looked more deadly than the sword.
"Captain," the Warlock intruded with a cool voice. "She has survived a week of painful torture of my magic. If you hurt her now, you will be giving her what she wants."
The Captain hesitated, and sent Gwen a dark glare. A promise of a bloody end. He reluctantly put his dagger away, but stepped back next to the Warlock.
"Girl," Warlock said, "the powers of this magical wand is above your head. If you were to tell me how you managed to use the meager portion of it's power, I promise I will take you the nearest port with not a harm on your head."
"Bite me, pig." Gwen spat, and the pirate nearest to her backhanded her. She stumbled, but held her ground. "I won't tell you anything."
"That would be the wrong choice, girl." The Warlock sighed, "you see, I am already close to seeing how unlock its power. Anything you tell me would just save me some time. And I assure you, if you don't tell me anything of use in the next ten seconds, you will be the first to meet the end of this wand."
"I don't believe you." She didn't. There was no way that he could do anything with her wand. The Warlock simply arched a thick eyebrow, before pointing her wand to the nearest coil of rope and mumbled something under his breath.
Wrong. The air warped around something that seemed to wrong. The magic in Gwen rebelled being near the Warlock. Bile appeared in Gwen's mouth, as her entire body suddenly felt sick.
When the spots disappeared from Gwen's vision, she stared at the golden coils of rope. It wasn't possible! It wasn't possi-
"However, it doesn't last long." Warlock sighed, as if this was a great tragedy.
He used her power. But, it wasn't her power? Gwen's brain didn't process what was in front of her. However, only after thirty seconds after the Warlock cast the spell, the rope disintegrated. It turned into a faint yellow dust, and the wind whisked it away.
"You can't keep it in a solid form." Gwen muttered numbly. "But you can start the transformation, it doesn't have enough power to complete it. Or the right energy."
"What was that?" The Warlock cocked his head. "I didn't quite catch that."
Gwen was silent for a few seconds, before looking at the manipulative man. "Go throw yourself off the ship."
The pirate once again backhanded her, this time causing Gwen to fall down. A traitorous whimper of pain escaped her lips, and Gwen wanted to punch herself for showing a sign of weakness. These men preyed on such sounds, and there was no doubt that Gwen would regret making it.
A growl came from her skirts.
Gwen's thoughts went from being angry at herself to alarmed. No, Gull couldn't make any noise! They'll kill him! She couldn't tell him to stop, otherwise the pirates would know something was up.
Before Gwen had the chance to move, Gull shot out of her skirt and latched on the pirates leg. The Pirate yowled in pain, his foot landing a kick in Gull's side. He yipped, and dropped on the ground with a thud. Gwen pushed herself to him as fast as she could and wrapped her arms around Gull. He licked her face weakly, as Gwen ran her fingers over the opened cut in Gulls side. It had reopened with the kick.
"It seems there is a stowaway." Warlock mused, and Gwen turned a glare up to him. He silently cocked his head to the side, then gestured to the pirates to the side of Gwen.
"Take the dog from her."
"No!" Gwen tightened her hold on Gull. Hands were on her, and she kicked out. A man cursed under his breath as it landed somewhere on his person. She twisted and wriggled out of their hands, keeping Gull close to her chest. There was no way that they were going to get her dog. He was her!
A pirate seemed to have enough intelligence came up and grabbed Gull around the neck. Gwen clawed at his arm, but the more she held Gull to herself, the more Gull's throat would get crushed. And she knew it. It was only when Gull was making choked noises, did Gwen release her tight hold on the pup.
Immediately three pirates took her arms and held her back. The man who held Gull wasn't careful with him, and simply dropped him on the deck. Gwen spat curses at him, some that were older than the ship itself.
Gull's legs shook as he stood up. He was too injured to do so. Limping over to where Gwen was, a pirate shoved him away with his boot. A growl that was pitched higher than normal came out. Now it was Gull in the circle of pirates, their eyes on him.
"If you don't tell me how to use the wand properly, I will use it on the dog." Warlock evenly said. "I'll give you ten seconds to choose. Ten."
Gwen struggled against the men holding her. "Don't you dare!" She shrieked. "You leave him alone!" She kicked, and tried to wrestle her arms from the men's grasp but they held on.
"Five."
"Gull, leave. Move. Go!" Gwen pleaded with the pup, still doing her best to get out of the men's dirty hands. "Run!" Desperation was creeping in.
Gull looked at her, with his brown and golden eyes. A sad look, one that a pup shouldn't know yet in life. His tail wagged to the side, and he huffed one last bark, before the air twisted inside out. Everything felt wrong again. Gwen stilled, as she watched her friend take on a golden tint and then solidify.
She was still for a second, taking in the picture of the golden little dog, before it toppled over onto it's side and clanged against the wood floor. Hands holding her relaxed. Gwen yanked herself out from their grip, and dove to the ground. Gone, was the warm body near her at night. In it's place was hard metal, poking into her side.
The gold wasn't stable. Her hands buzzed near Gull's body. The structure of the gold wasn't sound, it wasn't going to last long.
"Gull, I'm sorry." Gwen whispered, her eyes growing wet. "I can't save you this time."
And with that, the golden dog statue crumbled to dust in her arms, a breeze spreading the fine powder away.
Gwen stared down at where Gull once was. Little bits of gold dust was clinging to the wet patches of blood on her dress. His blood. Not hers, no no. It's never her blood that is spilt. It's always the lives of others around her. Aoife, Peter, Charles. Farmer Albin and his daughter. The countless people whose lives were ruined because she was around them. Gull.
A cold chill went up Gwen's back, the only sign before a raw fury hit her. She had never been this angry before, all rational thoughts rushed out of her head as her resolve turned to steel. She needed to hear bones breaking. Screaming. For the pirates around her to feel her pain. Gwen needed them to feel her loss. Her loneliness.
"I curse you." Gwen whispered to herself.
"What was that?" Warlock asked amused. "Are you about to tell us the secrets?"
"I curse you." She said, this time louder. Her voice echoed with power. Her wand trembled in the Warlock's grip, and it flew into her outstretched hand. "I curse all of you."
Gwen stood up slowly, facing the pirates with fury twisted on her face. The sun blotted out with a sudden wind blowing in dark stormy clouds. Wind ripped at anybody standing in it's path, but leaving Gwen untouched. "You will be persecuted for everything you do. People will fear you, and try to kill you with any chance they get. Gold shall be your enemy, a single touch will cause your death." Gwen thought of Gull, blowing away on the wind, his golden eye to never see the light of day again.
Around her, she felt the magic of the ship grow stronger. The Warlock trying to smother her with his power. But no, he was no match for an angry witch. With a flick of her wand, Gwen overpowered his magic with hers, brutally ripping it apart. She watched as his face contorted in pain, and his eyes rolled back as he fell to the deck. Alive, but in pain. A worthless mutt, trying to attack her like that. Oh yes, a mutt indeed.
"At every full moon, you shall turn into the form that fits you best. No more shall you be considered human. Dogs at sea, wolves at night. Forevermore, you shall be changed, through your children's children." Around her men cowered. The Captain was huddled up against the edge of the ship, his hand clutched at his sword. Several men tried to dive overboard, but it was too late. They were already affected.
"Forevermore shall you haunt the Earth, and your last chance for redemption is gone. There shall be no curse breaker for you." Lightning cracked from above, the sea roiled and crashed against the ship. Finally, Gwen released the magic, and she felt lightheaded. It took a lot of magic to curse somebody, even more so if there wasn't a way to break the curse.
Still, she wasn't going to be on this ship anymore.
With the last of her power, Gwen moved to the edge of the boat. Pirates moved to get out of her way. Climbing up the railing, the spray splashed up against her face, as she tumbled head first into the water. There was a golden flash, and there wasn't a body anymore in the water, but a golden coin.
As it sank downwards, a final flash of gold from the light lit up the image of Gwen on the side of the coin, before the sea finally claimed her at last.
.
Up on the deck of the ship, the Captain snapped out of his horror and snapped at his men to hoist the sails. The storm was going to be a harsh one. It was up to fate if they were to survive this test. He was stepping in to help his men, when something rolled under his boot. He nearly fell over, and when he lifted his foot, he found himself something that had been causing him grief for the past week.
The wand.
.
End of Part One.
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